Location: Starforge Nexus - Green's Garden Sanctuary | Luminari Artifact Dimensional Fold
Time: Month Two, Week One (Day 35 of Training)
Green stood before the crystallized essence tree, arms crossed, studying Jayde with an intensity that made her want to fidget.
"You're ready," Green said finally.
Assessment unclear. Specify parameters.
(Ready for what?)
"Major advancement. Sparkforged to Flamewrought tier." Green's fractured emerald eyes were serious. "You've stabilized your foundation. Mastered basic Sparkcasting. Learned Runeinfusion fundamentals. Your Crucible Core is solid enough to handle a significant Aspect sacrifice."
Jayde's hands tightened on the practice sword she'd been carrying. Five weeks of training—brutal, relentless, exhausting. Combat drills with White until her muscles screamed. Magic exercises with Green until her meridians burned. Meditation sessions that left her mind raw. Nightly medicinal baths that rebuilt what the day destroyed.
And now—
Advancement opportunity. Tactical decision required.
"How significant?" Jayde asked carefully.
"Very." Green gestured at the moss. "Sit. We need to discuss what you're about to do."
***
They sat cross-legged facing each other, the garden's impossible vegetation swaying in wind that shouldn't exist.
"Minor Aspects are easy," Green began. "Saphira's laughter. Small resentments. Surface irritations. You burned one to advance from Ashborn to Sparkforged—simple, relatively painless, minimal psychological impact."
She leaned forward.
"Major Aspects are different. Deep traumas. Core fears. Foundational pain that's shaped who you are." Her voice dropped. "Burning these changes you fundamentally. You'll remember the events intellectually, but the emotional weight—the fear, the helplessness, the anguish—disappears. Forever."
Permanent psychological modification. Identity alteration. Proceed with extreme caution.
(What if we need that fear? What if it keeps us safe?)
"Valid question," Green said. "Some cultivators argue we need our traumas. That pain makes us careful. Fear keeps us alive." She shook her head. "I disagree. Fear paralyzes. Trauma chains. The lessons from painful experiences are valuable. The suffering itself is not."
She traced patterns in the moss.
"You'll keep the tactical knowledge. The understanding that slave overseers are dangerous. The awareness that certain situations require caution. What you'll lose is the visceral terror. The nightmares. The flinching. The emotional scarring that makes you less than you could be."
Retains strategic information, removes emotional burden. Theoretically optimal.
"Show me the Aspects," Jayde said. "Let me see what I'm choosing from."
Green nodded. Placed a hand on Jayde's chest, just above her Crucible Core.
"Look inward."
***
Jayde closed her eyes.
Reached down into the space where her cultivation resided. Past the warmth of Inferno essence. Past the glow of her Ember Qi pool. Into the tangled shadows wrapped around her, Crucible Core like poisoned vines.
The major traumas were immediately visible—darker, heavier, more deeply rooted than the minor resentments she'd burned before.
Cataloging significant Aspects:
The Execution. Her mother's death. The blood. The crowd's approval. Za'thul's cold face watching his wife die for a crime she didn't commit. This Aspect was massive—black and bleeding, thorned with grief and rage and helpless despair.
Lawrence's Betrayal. Sixty years of trust shattered in one moment. The gunshot. Her back burning. Dying while her best friend watched with corporate allegiance in his eyes. This one was old, scarred over, but still festering—poison that had never quite healed.
The Reading Ceremony. Age five. The Emberstone's judgment. "Voidforge." The crowd's horror. Her family's rejection. The moment her world ended. Small but dense, collapsed into a singularity of childhood devastation.
The First Beating. Age six. First day in the slave pits. Three guards. Leather whips. "Teaching the null her place." Pain beyond anything her child-body had experienced. Terror beyond anything her child-mind could process. This one was sharp, jagged, cutting every time she brushed against it.
The Library Explosion. Recent. Raw. Saphira's cruelty. Edvard's presence. The Divine Tome activating. Soul merger. Federation memories flooding back.
Zhek Death. Waking to find Zhek dying. This was complex—layered trauma, multiple elements, still bleeding.
And many more from both Jade's young life, and her sixty-odd years in the Federation.
(They're all so big. So heavy.)
Affirmative. Significant psychological damage. Each representing a formative trauma event.
"Which one calls to you?" Green's voice was distant, filtered through the meditation. "Which pain are you ready to release?"
Jayde examined each Aspect.
The Execution—no. Too recent. Too raw. She wasn't ready to let go of her mother yet, even if it was just the grief. Shyenho deserved to be mourned.
Lawrence's Betrayal—no. That pain was Federation-Jayde's, from a lifetime ago. It had already scarred over. Burning it would change who she'd been, and she wasn't sure that was right.
The Reading Ceremony—no. That moment had defined her entire life. Removing its emotional weight felt like erasing a crucial part of her identity.
The Library Explosion—no. Too complex. Too many interwoven elements. Attempting to burn that might damage important connections.
But The First Beating—
Isolated trauma. No positive elements. Pure pain serving no constructive purpose. Optimal candidate for sacrifice.
(That one,) Jade whispered. (I want to stop being afraid of whips. Stop flinching at sudden movements. Stop waking up feeling like I'm six years old and helpless.)
"The First Beating," Jayde said out loud. "I choose that one."
Green's hand tightened slightly. "You're certain? This is a foundational fear. It's shaped your responses for nine years. You'll be different after burning it."
"I know." Jayde opened her eyes. "But I'm tired of being afraid. Tired of carrying that child's terror. I want to remember what happened—remember the lesson that cruelty exists—without reliving the pain every time someone raises their voice."
Strategic decision: Remove tactical liability while maintaining operational awareness. Approved.
Green studied her for a long moment.
"Very well," she said finally. "We'll perform the ritual at midnight. When essence flows are strongest. When the boundary between what you are and what you could be is thinnest."
She stood.
"Rest until then. Eat well. Meditate. What you're about to do is—" Green hesitated. "—not physically dangerous, but psychologically intense. You'll need all your strength."
***
Midnight in the Pavilion felt different.
The garden's vegetation glowed softly—bioluminescence that had no business existing in a dimensional pocket. Stars appeared overhead despite the ceiling, scattered across an impossible sky. The crystallized essence tree pulsed with all eight colors, synchronized to some cosmic rhythm Jayde could almost hear.
Environmental essence concentration elevated. Temporal alignment optimal. Conditions ideal for cultivation breakthrough.
(I'm scared.)
Paradoxically appropriate, given what we're burning.
Green stood at the garden's heart, hands raised. Essence flowed from her—not Radiance alone, but all eight types woven together in patterns Jayde couldn't follow. The air thickened. Reality bent slightly at the edges.
"This is a consecrated space," Green said. Her voice echoed strangely. "Removed from normal causality. Time moves differently here. What happens in this circle affects only you. No external interference. No interruption. Just you, your Core, and the Aspect you're choosing to sacrifice."
She gestured. "Come. Stand at the center."
Jayde walked forward. The moss beneath her feet was warm, pulsing gently. The crystallized tree loomed above, eight colors spiraling in hypnotic patterns.
Heart rate elevated. Adrenaline present. Nervous system primed. Natural stress response to a significant ritual.
"Sit," Green commanded. "Cross-legged. Hands on knees. Spine straight."
Jayde obeyed.
Green knelt before her, close enough that their knees almost touched.
"I'll guide you through each step," Green said. Her fractured emerald eyes were gentle. "But the burning must be yours. I can't do it for you. Can only show the way."
"I understand."
"Then close your eyes. Find your Crucible Core. Locate the Aspect we discussed."
***
The meditation was deeper this time.
Jayde sank into her inner space like diving into dark water. Past thought. Past sensation. Into the cultivation realm where essence lived.
Her Crucible Core blazed red-gold. Inferno essence swirled, eager and alive. Her Ember Qi pool surrounded it—eighty-five points currently, recovered from the day's training.
And wrapped around everything—
The shadows.
The Aspects.
The traumas.
She found The First Beating easily. It was right there, thorned and jagged, cutting into her Core with every pulse. Sharp enough to make her flinch even in meditation.
Target located. Initiating extraction protocol.
"Good," Green's voice filtered through. "Now reach for it. Not physically. With your will. Your intention. Tell it you're ready to let go."
Jayde reached out with something that wasn't quite hands.
Touched the Aspect.
***
Memory flooded back.
Age six. First day in the slave pits. Standing in line with other children. Dirty. Hungry. Terrified.
Three guards approaching. Leather whips coiled at their belts. Leader—scarred face, dead eyes—pointing at her.
"This one. Needs to learn her place."
Dragged to the center of the pit. Other slaves watching. Some crying. Some just... empty.
"Kneel."
She didn't move fast enough.
The whip came down.
Pain. Gods, the pain—
White-hot fire across her back. Six-year-old body not ready, not built for this level of suffering. Screaming. Couldn't stop screaming.
Again. And again. And again.
Thirteen lashes. She counted. Kept counting because if she stopped, she'd go insane.
Finally stopping. Guard's boot on her head, pressing her face into dirt.
"That's your place, Voidforge filth. Remember it."
Lying there afterward. Unable to move. Back bleeding. Other slaves keeping distance—afraid association would get them beaten too.
Understanding, with terrible clarity: No one was coming to save her. This was her life now. Forever.
***
Jayde gasped.
The memory was vivid. Crystal clear. Every detail perfect.
But this time, she didn't just observe.
She grabbed it.
"Now burn," Green commanded. "Draw the Aspect toward your Crucible Core. Feed it to the Inferno essence. Let the fire consume what no longer serves you."
Extraction proceeding. Emotional weight is significant. Require assistance maintaining focus.
(I can't—it's too heavy—)
"You can," Green said firmly. "You've carried this weight for nine years. One more minute won't break you. Pull."
Jayde pulled.
The Aspect resisted. Dug deeper. It didn't want to burn. Wanted to stay rooted in her psyche, cutting and bleeding and keeping her afraid.
Override resistance. Apply maximum willpower. This is a voluntary extraction.
She pulled harder.
The Aspect tore free.
***
Pain exploded through her consciousness.
Not physical. Worse. Psychological. The trauma fought as it came loose—tried to hook back into her mind, tried to stay relevant, tried to keep her broken.
(NO!) Jade screamed. Not in fear. In rage. (You don't get to control us anymore!)
Affirmative. Trauma is not identity. Remove foreign element.
Jayde dragged the Aspect toward her Crucible Core. Toward the blazing Inferno essence. Toward the fire that would consume it.
The moment they touched—
BURN
***
The Aspect caught fire.
Not metaphorically. Not symbolically. Actually burning, dissolving in flames that were part Inferno essence and part pure will.
The memory remained—Jayde could still see the guards, still remember the whips, still understand intellectually what had happened.
But the fear—
The terror of being helpless.
The flinching at raised voices.
The nightmares of leather cutting skin.
The visceral, paralyzing dread that had lived in her spine for nine years—
Gone.
Burning away like morning fog. Dissolving into essence. Transforming from psychological poison into raw cultivation power.
Her Crucible Core surged.
Ember Qi flooded in—not pulled from the environment, but created from the Aspect's destruction. Eighty-five points became ninety. One hundred. One-twenty. One-forty.
One hundred forty-five points.
The Core expanded. Meridians strengthened. Her entire cultivation foundation shifting, settling, and becoming more.
[ASPECT SACRIFICE COMPLETE]
[TRAUMA BURNED: THE FIRST BEATING (MAJOR)]
[ESSENCE GAINED: +8.7 INFERNO]
[EMOTIONAL WEIGHT RELEASED]
[CULTIVATION ADVANCEMENT DETECTED...]
[SPARKFORGED → FLAMEWROUGHT]
[TIER ADVANCEMENT CONFIRMED]
[EMBER QI POOL: 85 → 145]
[NEW CULTIVATION TECHNIQUES AVAILABLE]
[NEW SPELL UNLOCKED: FLAME LANCE]
The golden text scrolled across her inner vision. Gentler now. Celebratory almost.
Jayde opened her eyes.
***
The garden looked different.
Brighter. More detailed. She could see individual essence flows in each plant now—thin threads of colored light that had been invisible before. Could feel the pulse of life in everything, from the moss beneath her to the crystallized tree overhead.
Enhanced perception confirmed. Cultivation tier increased. Sensory acuity improved approximately forty percent.
(We did it. We actually—)
Green was smiling.
Not her usual sharp expression. Something softer. Proud, maybe.
"Well done," she said. "That was... remarkable. Most cultivators take hours for their first major Aspect sacrifice. You completed it in seventeen minutes."
Efficiency noted. Federation training applicable to cultivation advancement.
"How do you feel?" Green asked.
Jayde took inventory.
Physically: Strong. Energized. Like her body had been running on reserves before and was now fully powered.
Mentally: Clear. Sharp. No fog. No background fear clouding judgment.
Emotionally—
"Different," Jayde said slowly. "I remember the beating. Every detail. The guards' faces. The count. The pain." She touched her back—old scars that had never quite faded. "But I'm not afraid anymore. It's just... information. Data. A thing that happened."
Trauma converted to tactical intelligence. Optimal outcome.
(It doesn't hurt to remember. That's... weird. Good weird.)
"The lessons remain," Green said. "You know guards can be cruel. That power corrupts. That helplessness is dangerous. But the terror is gone. The emotional chains are broken."
She stood, offered a hand.
Jayde took it. Let Green pull her upright.
And realized—
She was taller.
No. Not taller. Straighter. Standing fully upright without the unconscious hunch she'd carried since age six. Shoulders back. Spine straight. No flinching. No defensive posture.
Just... standing.
Like a person who'd never learned to make herself small.
"Your body knows you're free," Green said softly. "Even if your mind is still catching up."
***
They walked through the garden as Green explained the advancement.
"Flamewrought tier," she said, "is where cultivators transition from beginners to journeymen. Your Ember Qi pool has increased seventy percent—one hundred forty-five points total. Regeneration rate improves to twelve per hour during rest, six during activity."
Significant resource expansion. Tactical capabilities enhanced.
"Your existing spells will be more efficient. Flame Spark costs four Qi instead of five. Heat Palm costs two per minute instead of three. Ember Shield costs twelve instead of eighteen."
Green gestured, and Jayde's character screen appeared in her vision:
╔═══════════════════════════════════════
║ STARFORGE NEXUS - CONTRACTOR STATUS
╠═══════════════════════════════════════
║ Name: Jayde Phoenix (Jade Freehold)
║ Contractor Level: 1
║ Cultivation Tier: Flamewrought (Early Stage)
║ Nexus Merits: 147.3
╠═══════════════════════════════════════
║ EMBER QI POOL: 145/145
║ Regeneration: 12/hour (rest), 6/hour (active)
╠═══════════════════════════════════════
║ INFERNO ESSENCE: Tier 3 Mastery
║ Sparkcasting: Competent
║ Runeinfusion: Basic
╠═══════════════════════════════════════
║ AVAILABLE SPELLS:
║ - Flame Spark (4 Qi)
║ - Heat Palm (2 Qi/min)
║ - Ember Shield (12 Qi)
║ - Flame Lance (25 Qi) [NEW]
╚═══════════════════════════════════════
"Flame Lance," Jayde read. "What's that?"
"Your advancement reward," Green said. "Major cultivation breakthrough unlocks new technique. This one is—" She smiled. "—satisfying."
She gestured at a training dummy that had appeared at the garden's edge.
"Try it. Focus Inferno essence into a concentrated beam. Not a sphere like Flame Spark. A lance. Sharp. Piercing. Designed to punch through defenses."
Offensive upgrade. Anti-armor capability. Tactical value is significant.
Jayde extended her hand. Drew Inferno essence—it flowed so much easier now, like the meridians had been widened, smoothed, perfected by the advancement.
She shaped the essence. Not a sphere. A lance. Long. Narrow. Sharp as a blade. Compressed heat that wanted to penetrate rather than splash.
Twenty-five points drained from her pool.
The lance shot forward.
CRACK
The training dummy exploded.
Not burned. Not cut. Exploded. The piercing heat punched through the wooden core, superheated the interior, and caused catastrophic expansion that blew the dummy apart in a shower of splinters and burning fragments.
(Holy—)
Devastatingly effective. Estimated penetration: Four inches of hardwood. Sufficient to pierce most non-magical armor.
"That," Green said with satisfaction, "is a Flamewrought-tier attack. You can cast it five times before exhausting your Qi. Use it wisely."
She walked toward the destroyed dummy.
"Flame Lance is anti-personnel and anti-armor. Precise targeting required. High Qi cost limits spam-casting. But against single dangerous opponents—" She toed a charred splinter. "—devastatingly effective."
Combat doctrine update: Flame Spark for groups, Flame Lance for priority targets.
"How long until I can advance again?" Jayde asked. "To Inferno-tempered tier?"
"Months," Green said immediately. "Minimum four. You need to consolidate this advancement. Master your new power level. Let your Crucible Core adapt to the expanded capacity." Her expression was serious. "Rushing between tiers cracks foundations. Be patient."
Four months minimum. Noted. No premature advancement attempts.
(That's forever away.)
"That's tomorrow in cultivation terms," Green corrected. "Most cultivators spend years between major advancements. You'll do it in months because of the time dilation and ethical sacrifice methodology. But you still can't rush the process without killing yourself."
She turned back toward the garden's heart.
"Rest tonight. Tomorrow, we continue training. Combat integration with your new power level. Runeinfusion practice. Meditation to stabilize the Core." Green glanced back. "And we'll start preparing you for the second Aspect sacrifice. Something smaller. Reinforcing the first breakthrough."
Training continuation. No rest period after advancement. Harsh but logical.
"Can I ask something?" Jayde said.
"Always."
"Do you regret it? Burning away all your soft memories to reach Sovereign-tier? Even though you sacrificed the power afterward?"
Green stopped walking.
For a long moment, she didn't answer.
"Yes," she said finally. "And no. I regret losing the memories. The warmth. The connections. But I don't regret the power I gained, or the realm I saved, or the choice I made at the end." She looked at Jayde. "I regret the method. Burning happiness to gain strength. That was wrong. But burning pain to become whole?" Her smile was sad. "That's different. That's what you're doing. That's the ethical path."
She resumed walking.
"Come. You need food. Advancement burns calories. And sleep—your body is rebuilding at the cellular level. Rest is crucial."
***
Later, lying in the recovery room, Jayde reviewed the advancement.
First major Aspect sacrifice: Success. Psychological impact: Significant but positive. Power gain: Substantial. Physical changes: Improved posture, reduced stress response, enhanced confidence.
(We're different now. Fundamentally different.)
Affirmative. Trauma removal = identity modification. But voluntary. Beneficial. We remain ourselves—just less broken.
Jade was quiet for a moment.
(Do you think we'll burn all of it eventually? All the pain? All the fear? Everything that hurts?)
Unknown. Sufficient trauma remains for multiple advancements. The question is: Should we?
(What do you mean?)
Some pain teaches. Some fear protects. Not all suffering should be sacrificed. We must choose carefully which traumas serve no purpose, which simply chain us without benefit.
Jayde considered that.
Green had said the same thing, more or less. Keep the lessons. Burn the suffering. Transform pain into power without losing the wisdom that pain had taught.
Strategic cultivation: Remove specific traumas that inhibit function. Retain experiences that inform tactical decisions.
(Okay. We'll be smart about it. Not burn everything. Just... the worst parts. The chains.)
Agreed.
The Divine Tome's text appeared softly in her vision:
[CULTIVATION MILESTONE ACHIEVED]
[FLAMEWROUGHT TIER CONFIRMED]
[SEVEN LOCKS REMAIN]
[INTEGRATION PROGRESS: 14%]
[RECOMMENDATION: CONTINUE ETHICAL ADVANCEMENT METHODOLOGY]
Fourteen percent.
The Tome was integrating slowly. Each advancement brought it deeper into her cultivation foundation. By the time all eight locks were open—
Full integration. Unknown capabilities. Potential unprecedented power.
(One lock at a time,) Jade said. (One essence at a time. One trauma at a time.)
Correct approach. Sustainable growth. Patient advancement.
Jayde closed her eyes.
Felt her Crucible Core pulsing steadily. One hundred forty-five points of Ember Qi. Inferno essence flowing smoothly through widened meridians. Flamewrought tier—third stage of cultivation, achieved through ethical sacrifice.
And somewhere in the back of her mind—
The memory of three guards and thirteen lashes.
Still there. Still clear.
But not cutting anymore.
Just... information.
A thing that happened to someone who was learning to be strong.
Tomorrow: Continue training. Master new power. Prepare for the next advancement. The path continues.
(The path continues,) Jade echoed.
And for the first time in nine years—
She slept without nightmares.